Stock markets love growth. When economies grow, the stock prices stay up. As much as markets love growth, the lack of growth gives the jitters to markets. The current worries in the developed markets in USA and Europe are centered around the lack of growth in their economies. Growth needs loads of capital. The capital for growth of nations comes from two sources- Investment and credit. Investment comes from domestic savings and overseas investors. Credit comes from the banks.

USA and Europe have strong reasons to worry on the growth front. The reasons are simple. In the USA, citizens spend more than they earn. So they don’t have real savings. They borrow to spend. They also borrow to invest. This makes their ability to invest further weak and suspect. America’s investments need to come from outside. Domestic investors are carrying too much debt and they need to reduce their borrowings over time before they can think of investing.

Borrowing to spend and invest are both extremely risky. When interest rates are low, the citizens find it easy to meet interest commitments. But, if interest rates rise, then it is inevitable that investors will be squeezed to meet interest payments. That will weaken their ability to spend more. Investing further will be near impossible. This prospect is a growing worry in America and Europe. Investors are spending less and trying to reduce their liabilities before inflation begins to hurt them. This lowering of spending is hurting growth.

Nobody believes the Central bankers and policy makers who try to reassure them that interest rates will remain low. Everybody wants to mend their financial state and reduce their borrowings over a period of time. Nobody believes that their Governments can bail them out if they get stuck with too much of loans. The falling growth in the USA and Europe is attributable partly to the lack of consumer confidence and lower spending.

Let us think of our own ability to spend. India is a country where spending is largely driven by real earnings. Indians spend only what they earn. They borrow very little. Very few Indians borrow to spend. Most Indians save a good part of their earnings. It is amply clear that spending in India isn’t likely to be impacted too much. We may actually see an increase in spending as the buying power of rural India is growth rapidly. The world is grappling to find money to spend. On the contrary , India doesn’t have that problem. Actually, we are in a sweet spot. We can sustain our spending and even grow it.

Clearly this is good news for Indian companies and our stock market. The long term view can only be positive.

Samyuktha holds an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Stella Maris College, Chennai. She has also completed Investment Advisory qualifications conducted by NISM (National Institute of Securities Markets). She began her career as an analyst with Goldman Sachs. She is an autodidact, and has spent the last few years acquiring knowledge on financial markets and financial planning.

Gayathri

Gayathri Muraly, a qualified Chartered Accountant, is part of ithought’s financial planning team. An All India rank holder in the CA final examination, she has worked with S.R. Batliboi & Associates (Member Firm of Ernst & Young Global), in their audit and assurance services segment. She has been a prolific achiever throughout her academic pursuits and career. She has a wealth of experience in Accounting, Audit and Finance across diverse industries. Her functional skills include understanding businesses and their financial statements. She has also worked on tax and risk management solutions for clients.

Prashanth

Prashanth studied business administration and data analytics in college. Having joined ithought’s financial planning team in 2015, he has three years of industry experience. He enjoys working with numbers and is passionate about simplifying client experience. Prashanth is also an ardent football fan and an aspiring marathon runner.

Gaurav

Gaurav Jain is a qualified chartered accountant and has more than five years of work experience in the accounting and finance industry. He completed his graduation from Loyola College, Chennai. After having worked with companies like KPMG, Goldman Sachs and Barclays, Gaurav decided to work with a full-fledged financial advisory firm and joined ithought in 2015. He heads ithought’s financial planning desk, longitude.

Vikash

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries

Rashmika

Rashmika graduated from Ethiraj College for Women with a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce. She is a conscientious and meticulous professional. Prior to working with ithought, Rashmika worked at Goldman Sachs.

Maruthi

Maruthi has an engineering degree in Electrical & Electronics from VIT University. His first position was with TCS Ltd where he worked as a developer for a leading UK Bank’s Investment Banking Division. He followed it up with PGDM from IIM Ahmedabad and worked in sales & business development roles for two years in Healthcare and Real Estate firms, before joining ithought in 2015. He is a dedicated relationship manager focused on improving client experience.

Anirudh

Anirudh is a relationship manager at ithought, specializing in business development and client management. He has been with ithought since 2012 and enjoys being a part of the growing business. He has a Master’s degree in Accounting & Finance from the London School of Economics. He never misses a game of basketball on the weekends.

Amit

Amit Parakh is an engineer by design and a personal financial services advisor by passion. He has a wealth of experience in the financial services industry. Amit has spent more than two decades working with banks, asset management companies (AMCs), and financial advisory firms. After having worked with HSBC, HDFC SLIC, and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund on Sales Strategy, Product Communication, and Distribution, Amit was keen to transition to the client facing side and help clients through their financial journeys. His value systems in client service are closely aligned with ithought’s and he joined us in 2015.

Ajay Kumar

Ajay is a commerce graduate from Loyola College, Chennai and has been working as a relationship manager with ithought since 2010. During his time here, he has developed a keen interest in value investing and financial planning. He is known for his warmth and is committed to client service. Ajay is also a professional cricketer and is passionate about traveling.

Prasath

Prasath Raj has been with ithought from inception and has over twelve years of experience in financial markets. He is a Commerce Graduate with an MBA in Finance. He is also a derivatives specialist and has extensive knowledge on equity shares and mutual funds. Prasath is a voracious reader and leverages his extensive knowledgebase to provide unique insights. He utilizes these competencies to formulate sound investment strategies for our clients.

Niranjan

Niranjan is an applied Mathematics Graduate from the College of Engineering, Guindy. In addition, he has cleared the FRM (Financial Risk Manager) certification exam from GARP (Global Association Of Risk Professionals). Niranjan has an avid interest for financial markets and has been following equity markets since his school days. He has been an active investor for over sixteen years. Niranjan has been involved with strategy at ithought for over seven years now.